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Hinds CC named top recycler among Mississippi educational institutions

[tweetable alt=””]Hinds Community College has been given the 2015 Environmental Hero Award[/tweetable] as the Recycler of the Year for Educational Institutions in Mississippi.

The college was recognized by the Mississippi Recycling Coalition for the honor, announced at the state Capitol Tuesday, April 5 during the MRC’s annual recycling awareness event. MRC bestows the award on institutions that promote recycling in their respective communities.

Hinds Community College was given the 2015 Environmental Hero Award as Recycler of the Year for Educational Institutions in Mississippi on April 5 by the Mississippi Recycling Coalition. Front row, from left, Office of Sustainability Director Jason Pope, Sustainability Projects Coordinator Mindy Stevens, Sarah Kountouris of Keep Mississippi Beautiful, Hinds President Dr. Clyde Muse; back row, from left, Vice President Thomas Wasson, student volunteer Talgat Brown and Sustainability’s Leon Jackson.

“This award represents the magnitude of the Hinds Community College Recycling Program,” said Jason Pope, director of Hinds’ Office of Sustainability. “We play a prominent role in higher education recycling.”

In December 2015, Hinds surpassed the $10 million mark for energy savings since a concerted effort to cut energy spending across the college’s six locations began in 2008. In 2013, the Office of Sustainability was established and tasked with managing the college’s recycling program.

Since then, initiatives in recycling paper and plastic have expanded to providing receptacles district-wide specifically for plastic bottles, aluminum cans and other recyclables. Proceeds from recycling efforts go to fund scholarships at Hinds. Also, student organizations at Hinds have completed service-hour projects through the office.

MRC is a consortium of business and industry executives, members of trade organizations, nonprofits, state environmental officials and other entities with the mission of informing other economic sectors, public officials and the general public on the importance of recycling. The group promotes recycling through activities such as the Hero award, funding grants to schools to encourage recycling, composting or waste reduction programs and funding scholarships for college students in Mississippi majoring in subjects related to the environment.

Author: Danny Barrett

Danny Barrett Jr. is a 18-year journalist with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communication from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. Barrett covered county government and business at The Vicksburg Post for 10 years and came to Hinds Community College in 2015.